Water-wheel regulator



W. M. BRADSHAW ET AL WATER WHEEL REGULATOR Filed March 26, 1925 6'4 55' 54 5/ INVENTOR5 WITNESEES William Bradsha w and M Clarence A Boddze.

ATTORNEY Patented l4,

tenets ISBUEG, PENNSYL- .e AC'EUIEING- CGMPANY,

Our invention relates to speed-regulator systems and has special relation to systems for ensuring operation of prime mover at constant speed.

Cue object or our invention is to provide a system 0;? the above-indicated c with hydraulic means tor regula..- system.

A further object oi" our inve tion is to provide a system of the above-indicated character with apluraii' sure devices to insure the apparatus.

The present invention i illustrated and described in connection with the control of a water wheel but is not necessarily limited in its application to use with water wheels.

Qur invention comprises a water wheel provided with a plurality of gate valves and pres ure cylinders for operating the gate valves. The pressure within these pressure cylinders is controlled by a relay valve which is, in turn, controlled by a pilot valve governed in accordance with the speed of the water wheel by any suitable means, such as a fiyball governor.

Several reactive devices are provided to react upon the setting of the regulator to prevent hunting action in the system. One of these anti-hunting devices is responsive to the gate movement to react upon the pilot valve; another is responsive to the pressure controlled by the pilot valve and a third is responsive to the changes in velocity pressure within the penstoclr supplying the water wheel. and this last-nan'ied device reacts both upon the pilot valve to change its setting and upon the relay valve to change its setting, independently of the operation of the pilot valve.

Our invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic view of apparatus organized in accordance with our invention; and

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of modification of a portion thereof.

Referring to 1, a water wheel 5 is adapted to receive water under pressure from a penstoclr 6. The water wheel 5 is mounted upon a shaft 7 and comprises a hub portion 8 and a plurality ot vanes 9 carried vULATOE.

Serial No. 18,477.

thereby. Surrounding the vanes 9 are a plurality of guide vanes or gate valves ll havmg iiiCll' outer ends pivotally supported pen a stationary part and having their ntral portions attached to a ring 12. A ansverse lever 13, which is mounted upon he sh i he water wheel, is secured to l is, in turn. connected to rods opposite sides of the shaft 7. e connecting rods 1% and 15 carry, at oper ends, pistonslG and 1?, respect v. which are controlled by the operation a hydraulic relay valve 18. The relay valve 18 is connect-ed to receive fluid under pressure from an inlet pipe 19 through branch pipes 21 and 22 communicating with a valve cylinder 23 on opposite sides of a piston 24.

The cylinder 23 is also provided with a discharge port 25. The relay valve operates to control the pistons 16 and 17 through the supply pipes 26 and 27, respectively. In its normal position, the piston closes the POMS leading to pipes 26 and 27.

Qonnected to the relay valve chamber are pressure cylinders 28 and 29, containing pistons 81 and 33 that are connected, by means of rods 32 and 3%, respectively, to opposite ends of the valve piston 24. The cylinder 28 is connected to the inlet pipe 19 by means of a connecting pipe 35. The cylinder 29 is connected to be supplied with pressure through a pipe 87 in accordance with the operation of a pilot valve 36.-

The operation of the relay valve 18 is governed by the operation of the pilot valve 86 in accordance with the action of the flyball governor 38 that is connected in a welllrnown manner to be operated in accordance with the speed of the water wheel 5. The fivball governor 38 is pivoted at 39 to actu ate a floating lever 41, which has a stem 42 pivotally connected to one end. The stem 42 is connected to the double piston or valve element 43 of the pilot valve 36. The pilot valve receives fluid, under pressure, from an inlet pipe 45, and is provided with a pair of discharge ports 46 and 47. Leading from the pilot valve chamber, a pipe e8 connects with the cylinder 29 through pipe 37. In its normal position, the valve piston 43 closes the inlet to pipe 18 and the discharge port 46. it the piston 43 moves upwardly. it will cause the inlet pipe d5 to be placed in C0111- munication with the pipe 48, thereby permitting the flow of liquid into the chamber 29. and moving the piston 38 toward the left.

It. the piston a3 is moved downwardly, the discharge port 16 is placed in communication with the inlet port T5 and the discharge port 4t? is in communication with the pipe 18. Thiswill permit the liquid in the chamber 29 to pass out, thus relieving the pressure on the piston 33 and permitting the valve piston to be moved tothe right, due to the pressure on the piston 31. The movements of the valve piston 24 open or close the inlets to the'pipes 26 and 2?, re

7 spectively, and thus cause the pistons l-S and 17 to move the water wheel 5. V Movement of the water vheel causes the velocity pressure of to the penstock 6 to increase or do cording tothe direction of such n o Inorder to prevent overtravel of t. mechanism, it becomes desirable to provide gat 'valves 11 ot' the gate valves 1 water in means which will'react upon the controlmechanism to resetthe same prior to the obtaining of normal speed of the water wheel.

Inthe present invention, an operating cylinder 51 isprovided with a. par itio n and with pistons 5 3 and 64 on opposite sides thereof. Pistons '53 and 6 1 are connectedby means of a rod 63. A spring 54: is provided within the cylinder between the partition 52 and the piston 53. The pistonw53 of the cylinder 51has a second rod 58 that is'connected to a pitson 59 operating within a displacement cylinder 61. The displacementcylinder 61 is in communication with the pipe 48. through a pipe 62. One end ofthe cylinder 51.is connected to the penstock 6 by a pipe 55 that terminates in a curved end 'Gonnnuni'cating with the right-hand end of the cylinder 51, at opposite ends of a piston 64-, arepipes '66 and 67, the other ends of which communicate with a dash pot 68 having a piston 69 operating therein. The pipes 66 and 67 communicate with the dash pot 68 at opposite ends of the piston 69. The piston 69 is connected to fa lever 71 which is pivotally supported'at 72 and is connected to a'rod 73, which is, in turn, pivotally connected to the floating lever 41st the point 40;" 7 w 7 7 Operation. of the'piston' 64 causes a circulation of fluid from above and below the piston 69 of the dash pot'68, thereby reacting on the piston '69 to change the position thereof. lvlovements of the piston 69 are communicated to t-he lever 71, which moves about the pivot 72 and actuates the floating lever 41 about the pivot 39. This movement of thefioating lever 4-1 will actuate the piston 43 of pilot valve 36 in a direction opposite to that last given it by the flyloall governor 38 to thereby reset the valve mechanism; prior to the obtaining of normal speed.

lVhen the water-wheel gate valves are opened'to admit more water, a still further reaction is desired. -To this end, .a bell- 'ci'ank pivotal lever 77 is connected, at one end, to the rod 15, and, at the other end, to rj. 1. a link (8, that 18 connected to one end ot a second bell-crank lever 79 pivoted at its center at 81 and havin g a rod connected 7 the cylinder of an auxiliary dash pot 91' within which is apist-on 92 that is operatively connected to the floating lever 41'by means of the connecting rod 73. The lever 88 is provided with a transverse slot 93 to provide an adjustable connection for one end of a rod94l, the other end of which is connected. to a lever 95 that is 'pivotally supported at 96. i

r The lever 95 is connected alsoto a casing 9'? of a yieldable connection 98, which is lo cated on the rod73 and consists of disks 99 and 101 slidably mounted on the rod'll and adapted to be engaged by the end flanges 102 and 108 of the casing Tlpon the'rod 73 are fixed abutinents 104s 105 adapted to engage the loose disks 99 and 101,1respectively. V V 7 Between the disks 99 and 101 are a p ralit r of resilient members 106 which press) against the disks to urge the rod 'Zdtoward a central position with respect to the casing 97, which is the position illnstnned n the'drawing. The operation ot the. system of Fig. 1 is as follows: The ilyball governor 38 is operated in accordance with speed of the water wheel. Should the water wheel. speed fall'below normal, the lever 41 the would be operated by the governor about the pivot point 10'to raise the stem l2 ol' the pilot valve 36, thus causing fluid from the inlet 15 to flow intothe pipe 18 and the pipe 85; This would cause the pre on the piston 33 to increase, moving the pi ten 24 of the relay valve 18 towa and permitting fluid to through the pipe 27.to force the piston 17 downward- 1y, thus" opening the gate valves 11 through the pipe 48 and 62'also acts upon the piston 59, tending to move the pistons 53 and 64 toward the right, and fluid through the pipe 85 tends to move the. piston 83 downwardly. i

As the gate valves are opened, due to the lowering of the piston 17, the connec.

the left Flu id tion between the rod 15 and the rod 82 tends likewise to move the piston 83 downwardly. The pressure upon the piston 83 through the pipe 85 is effective immediately upon the operation of the pilot valve 36, while the reaction, due to the gate-valve movement trai'ismitted through the rod 82, is not eflective until the gate-valves are actually in motion. The movement of the piston 83 is transmitted through the levers 8S and to so change the positions of the dash-pot cylinder 91 and the casing 97 as to react upon the pilot valve by moving the lever ll about the pivot point 39.

As the velocity pressure in the penstocl: 6 changes, due to the changed flow of water therein, this pr ssure is transmitted, through the pip 55, to the piston thus tending to move the piston 64 to the right. The pressure upon the piston 61 is effective immediately upon the operation of the pilot valve, while the pressure upon the piston is effective only upon the changes in the velocity pressure within the penstock,

" these two pressures cooperating to vary the position of the piston G l.

The piston 64, in turn, reacts to change the setting of the dash-pot piston 69 and to thereby operate the lever 71 about the pivot point 72 to further change the setting of the floating lever 41, operating about the pivot point 39.

Fig. 2 illustrat s a device for receiving the changes in velocity pressures within the penstock, using a Venturi tube 107 having a pipe 108 connected to transmit the penstocl: static pressure to the right-hand side of the piston 53, and a pipe 109 connecting the throat of the venturi to the other side of the piston 53, so that the piston is actuated in accordance with the pressure of the spring 54 and the differences in pres sure at the mouth and at the throat of the venturi.

The device illustrated in Fig. 2 operates the same as the device illustrated in Fig. 1, with the exception of the substitution of the venturi, which is sensitive tothe veloc ity flow through the penstoclr as registered by differences in static pressures for the curved tube 57, which is sensitive to changes in the velocity pressures.

litany modifications in the system and ar rangement and location of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention, and we do not wish to be limited other than by the scope of the appended claims.

e claim as our invention:

1. In a regulator system, the combination with a prime mover and means for controlling the admission of fluid thereto, of control means therefor comprising a relay valve, means for actuating said relay valve in accordance with the speed of the prime mover,

and means for reacting upon said control means, said means being actuated in accordance with variations in the velocity of the motive fluid.

2. in a regulator system, the combination with a prime mover and means for controlline; the admission of fluid thereto, of control means therefor comprisin a relay valve, a pilot valve for actuating said relay valve, governor means actuated in accordance with the speed of the prime mover for actuating said pilot valve, and means actuated in accordance with variatio in tl velocity of the motive fluid for reaction upon said pilot valve.

3. In a regulator system, the tmmbinatiou with a prime mover and means for controlling the admission of fluid thereto, of control means therefor comprising a relay valve, a pilot valve for actuating said relay valve, governor means actuated in accordance with the speed of the prime mover for actuating said pilot valve, and means actuated in accordance with the variations in the velocity of the motive fluid for reacting upon said relay valve and upon said pilot valve.

4. in a regulator system, the combination with a prime mover, and gate valves for ,controlling the admission of motive fluid thereto, of control means therefor comprising a pilot valve, means for actuating said pilot valve in accordance with the speed of the prime mover, and means actuated in accordance with the velocity of the motive fluid for reacting upon said control means.

5. In a regulator system, the combination with a prime mover, and gate valves for controlling the admission of motive fluid thereto, of control means therefor comprising a pilot valve, means for actuating said pilot valve in accordance with the speed of the prime mover, and means actuated in accordance with changes in the motive fluid velocity for reacting upon said control means.

6. In. a regulator system, the combination with a prime mover, and gate valves for controlling the admission of motive fluid thereto, of control means therefor comprising a pilot valve, means for actuating said pilot valve in accordance with the speed of the prime mover, and a plurality of antihunting means for said system, one of said anti-hunting means being responsive to changes in the motive fluid velocity, and one of said anti-hunting means being responsive to the operation of said gate valves.

7. In a regulator system, the combination with a prime mover, and gate valves for controlling the admission of motive fluid thereto, of control means therefor comprising a pilot valve, means for actuating said pilot valve in accordance with the speed of the prime mover, means actuated in accordance with the operation of said gate valves with a prime mover and gate means for controlli the admisslon of motive fluld there "2'3 to, of control means therefor comprising a relay valve, a pilot valve foractuating said relay valve, and means for actuating said pilot 'valve in accordance with the speed of the'priine mover,means actuated in accordance'with the operation of said gate valves for react-ingupon said control means, and means actuated in accordance with therelocity changes of the motive fluid for reacting upon said control means.

In a regulator system, the combination with a prime moverand gate means for controlling the admission of motive fluid there ,to, of control means therefor comprislng a relay valve, a pilot valve for actuating said relay valve, and means for actuating said pilot valve in accordance with the speed of the prime mover, and means actuated in accordance'with the velocity changes of the motive fluid for reacting upon said relay valve and for reacting uponsaid pilot valve.

10. In a regulator system, the combinationwith a prime mover and gate means for controllingthe admission of motive 'fiuid thereto, '01: control means therefor comprising a relay valve, a pilot valve for actuating said relay valve,and means foractuating said pilot valve, in accordance with the speed of the prime mover, means operated in accordance with the operation of said gate valves and in accordance with the operation of said pilot valve for reacting upon said control means, and means actuated in accordance with the velocity changes of the motive fluid for reacting upon said control means.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names this 13th day of March. 1925. I

' WILLIAM M. BRADSHAW. CLARENCE A. BODDIE- 

